The sun had long since set when Captain Kaufmann came up and offered me a seat in his car. He was a fine fellow and had moreover many memorable and interesting things to tell me from his experiences in the war. So I said good-bye to my charming host for the day, General von Tettenborn, and the other officers, jumped up beside Kaufmann and a lieutenant and in a second we were on the way, eating up the ninety kilometres separating us from our destination in the north-west. We had our head-lamps lighted. At least twenty times we were stopped by the patrols guarding the road, who swung their lanterns across the road and shouted “halt!” I consider we were very fortunate to get through with a whole skin, for if one overlooks a single sentry, it is all up and one gets a bullet through the back. There were numerous cavalry patrols about, evidently on their way home after their scouting in the gloaming. They, too, were stopped by the pickets, for otherwise French patrols in German uniforms might easily infest the roads and villages held by the Germans. We were also stopped on entering and leaving every village.

However, at last we got safely back to Metz, and thus ended my last day at the front.